bahamas

wow, i can not believe that it has been four days since i wrote my last blog. time has gone by fast and slow all at the same time.

we now have over 700 students on board and we are on our third day at sea. before we arrive in spain on wednesday we will have been at sea for eight days. the atlantic ocean is a phenomenal body of water with its multiple shades of blues and yet i must admit that not seeing land for this long is getting a bit long.

as we were leaving the bahamas there were parents scattered everywhere on the docks-some holding signs, some waving and some crying. with everyone at the aft (back) of the ship we were beginning to wonder if we might sink :) once underway, we had quite a few students get sea sick as they adjusted to the rolling of the ship. we spent the rest of the evening in orientation and then ended the night with sea (floor) meetings.

i would just like to add here that watching a sunset in the bahamas while on a ship that is sailing towards another destination is phenomenal! the burnt oranges and reds racing across the sky as the sun set left me speechless (and for those of you who know me that is hard to do)

the next day was filled with more orientation meetings. the exciting news was that we were able to get a live feed in order to watch the inauguration. once everyone on the ship turned off their computers we sat in the union, classrooms and all the other nooks and crannies of the ship to watch history in the making. being alive to witness such an incredbile event and to do so while sailing across the altantic ocean will be a memory to share for years to come!

the evening of the inauguration was spent celebrating with cake and champagne.

the next day was the first day of classes. it is mandatory for everyone on the ship to attend the daily world cultures class from 9:20-10:35am. the first day of class we learned about photosynthesis and some other stuff (guess it has been awhile since i have been in class since my mind tended to wander at times)

after class we had our daily staff meeting and then went to lunch. the afternoon was spent trying to figure out who does what and when and why. in the evening, we had an activities fair in which students could sign up for recreational activities (basketball, volleyball, soccer, etc), clubs (students of color, spiritual, lgbtqa, photography, etc), bands and extended families. there were over 300 students who signed up to become a part of an extended family. the extended family is a student's chance to connect with a faculty or staff member and spend time together having meals, hanging out, doing things together in different countries, celebrating birthdays and other special occasions.

wednesday night was also the first night we served alcohol. students can have two alcohol beverages at dinner and then from 9-11pm there is an alcohol service on deck 7. students can get beer, wine or wine coolers for $3.50 a piece and can only have four drinks during the 9-11pm service. we are required to work during this time to ensure that students do not remove alcohol from the seventh deck and that they are drinking responsibly. it has been fun to watch the students during this time-it is a time for them to mingle and meet others, sing while jordan (student) jams on his guitar, play cards and eat pizza, hamburgers or other snacks from the bar. they even have veggie burgers!

on thursday night we showed the video, haze, in its entirety. (we had shown the trailer during student orientation) not sure if anyone has seen it but it is about the cu boulder student who died from an alcohol overdose in 2004. we have 80 cu boulder students on this voyage so they had mixed feelings about us showing it. our hope was to get students thinking about the good samaritan policy which asks them to look out for themselves and each other.

today is friday, i think. since leaving the bahamas we have added one hour to our clocks each night. i am guessing i am five or six hours ahead of those of you in colorado. i attended world cultures class this morning and struggled to pay attention due to a little bt of motion sickness. i am wearing sea bands (thank you so much andrea!) and they seem to work for the most part. the idea behind the sea bands is to put pressure on the pressure points on one's wrists to alleviate the motion sickness. the sea bands are so tight on my wrists i think the idea is to have you focus on the pain from your circulation being cut off and you forget about being sea sick!

as i end this blog, i just want to thank each and everyone of you who has sent me an e-mail message. i have been homesick at times so hearing from you all has helped to make that a bit easier. i also want to apologize for providing you all with the wrong blog address-does not sound like it was a very nice blog so i am sorry if you were offended or hurt in any way.

please keep sending your e-mails, pictures, funny stories, questions, etc.

miss you all!